Reggie Brown, the longtime manager of the Maitland, FL-based Florida Tomato Committee and executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange, was honored for his dedication to the tomato industry at the Sept. 5-6 Florida Tomato Conference in Naples, FL. Brown, who plans to formally retire in late January, was lauded for leading Florida tomato growers with the adoption of food safety practices and for defending the industry during other challenges. Michael Schadler, who joined in February as the committee’s deputy manager and exchanges’ senior vice president, plans to succeed Brown.

When Mike Stuart, president of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, first arrived in Florida in 1992, he witnessed Brown, who was then working for FFVA, dress as “Captain Cart” in an effort to persuade pepper growers to adopt a new carton. “I have never met an individual who’s as passionate and dedicated to agriculture as Reggie,” he says. “Donald Trump would never call him a low-energy person.”

After serving in the U.S. Marines in 1969-71, Brown graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in vegetable crops with an agricultural economics undergraduate minor. He taught horticulture and worked as a county extension agent and director before joining the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association as director of marketing and membership. In 1999, he became the committee’s third manager.

PHOTO: Michael Schadler (left) and Reggie Brown of the Florida Tomato Committee and Florida Tomato Exchange at the Sept. 5-6 Florida Tomato Conference in Naples, FL. Industry leaders recognized Brown for his many industry accomplishments. Schadler plans to succeed Brown, the organizations’ longtime leader, who expects to retire at the end of January.